Sushil Kumar wins maiden bout after comeback, set to participate in Nationals
What's the story?
Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar claimed a spot to represent Railways in the National Wrestling Championships due to be held later this year owing to a walkover that he procured when his 74-kg category competitor Dinesh Kumar refused to compete.
Not only this, Sushil was also scheduled to battle Praveen Rana but the wrestler did not even show up at the venue, giving Sushil a green signal and a spot in the National Championships.
In case you didn't know
The wrestler, who has a silver medal from the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze from the 2008 Beijing Olympics was training in Georgia at the Pehlwan Club in Tbisili and rushed to take part in the trails that were being held at his home stadium.
Sushil is aiming to get back to professional wrestling after failing to make the cut to take part in the Rio Olympics last year.
Heart of the matter
While Dinesh Kumar appeared for the fight at the Kishenganj Akahada, his decision to stay away from the fight was recorded by the match officials in order to ensure that questions which could follow could be quashed with the right answers.
Right after the walkover, Sushil was back in his element and headed out for training and indulged in some duels to further hone his skills.
What's next?
With an aim to get back into Indian colours after a long break, Sushil has been training hard and a top-four finish at the nationals will make the wrestler eligible to take part in the nationals training camp and will have himself in good stead for national reckoning.
Author's take
Sushil has been an integral part of India's wrestling team for a long time and for him to come out of just training and represent India would be a huge boost to his confidence and would be highly anticipated.
We wish Sushil Kumar all the success ahead!